Woodwind musical instruments utilize a tubular body to define a column of air. Sound waves are produced within the column of air and can be modulated by changing the acoustic characteristics of the column. A mouthpiece is connected to the tubular body and contains a cavity in communication with the interior of the tubular body. Woodwind musical instruments utilize the vibration of a reed that covers the cavity of the mouthpiece to generate tones through the oscillation of the reed.
The reed is held in place by an adjustable clamp or ligature surrounding both the mouthpiece and the reed. Traditionally, the ligature is a metal band extending the circumference of the mouthpiece body. Tightening mechanisms such as screws are used to tighten the ligature around the reed and the mouthpiece body to securely hold the reed in contact with the mouthpiece body. The contact created by the ligature between the reed and the mouthpiece can play a major role in the tonal qualities of the instrument. The more tightly the reed is held in place, the more dampened the sound.
The traditional metal ligatures that utilize screws as tightening mechanisms are burdensome to adjust and can require several attempts to tighten and loosen the ligature to ensure proper contact between the reed and the mouthpiece. Additionally, traditional metal ligatures are individually sized for each mouthpiece requiring the use of multiple different ligatures for each varying mouthpiece. For example, with traditional metal band ligatures a person would need three separate ligatures to fit an alto, soprano and baritone mouthpiece. Finally, over tightening of traditional ligatures can lead to scratching of the mouthpiece.